Stocks Gain in Europe, Asia, Led by ING; U.S. Futures Decline

By Adria Cimino

Oct. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Stocks in Europe and Asia rose as investors speculated lawmakers will push through a $700 billion plan to rescue American banks. U.S. stock-index futures fell.

ING Groep NV, the biggest Dutch financial-services firm, climbed 3.2 percent and Westpac Banking Corp. rallied 8.2 percent in Australia after the Senate set a vote for tonight on the bailout plan. Anglo American Plc gained 3.4 percent as copper advanced for the first time in four days in London.

The MSCI World Index added 0.6 percent to 1,189.43 at 1:20 p.m. in London. Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index rose 0.7 percent, and the MSCI Asia Pacific Index increased 1.7 percent. Futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 1 percent before a report that may show manufacturing contracted at a faster pace in September.

``It's certainly good if the package comes through,'' said Bernhard Maeder, who oversees the $793 million Credit Suisse Equity Fund at Credit Suisse Asset Management in Zurich. ``We have to instill trust. My scenario is policy will work, trust will come back and yes we do have upside.''

A decline by automakers limited gains in Europe. Porsche SE fell 8.7 percent after saying turbulence in global financial markets made it ``difficult'' to predict earnings for 2009. Daimler AG slipped 7 percent.

Stocks extended their advance after companies in the U.S. cut fewer jobs in September than economists predicted, a private report based on payroll data showed today.

The U.S. Senate tied a revived plan to an increase in bank- deposit-insurance limits and tax breaks to win support from Republicans.

Japanese and Australian money-market rates fell as central banks pumped $15 billion into the system and U.S. lawmakers worked on the plan.

Treasuries, Dollar

Treasuries advanced and the dollar fell from near a two- week high against the euro. The U.S. currency was little changed versus the yen.

China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore were shut for holidays today.

National benchmark indexes gained in 15 of the 18 western European markets. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 added 1.7 percent as Barclays Plc and BHP Billiton Ltd. jumped. Germany's DAX fell 0.1 percent and France's CAC 40 advanced 0.6 percent.

U.S. stocks jumped the most in six years yesterday after President George W. Bush urged passage of the plan designed to rid financial institutions of bad loans. More than $1 trillion in market value was erased on Sept. 29 in the worst day for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index since the ``Black Monday'' crash of 1987 after the House of Representatives rejected the plan.

Domino Effect

Europe's Stoxx 600 fell 11 percent in September, the worst monthly slump since January, after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy, American International Group Inc. was taken over by the U.S. Treasury and Washington Mutual Inc. was seized by regulators in the biggest U.S. bank failure in history.

``We're optimistic the government plan will be adopted by the end of the week,'' said Francois Savary, a strategist at Reyl & Cie in Geneva. ``We have to stop these successive bankruptcies. The plan will be able to stop this domino effect.''

ING gained 3.2 percent to 15.41 euros. Barclays, the third- biggest U.K. bank, jumped 5.6 percent to 344.75 pence.

Westpac, Australia's third-largest bank, gained 8.2 percent to A$23.25. Nomura Holdings Inc., Japan's largest brokerage, jumped 6 percent to 1,405 yen.

Anglo American, the world's fourth-largest diversified metal company, climbed 4.4 percent to 1,937 pence. Kazakhmys Plc, Kazakhstan's biggest copper producer, rallied 5.6 percent to 604 pence. Copper rebounded from more than a one-year low in London. Nickel, lead and tin also advanced.

Xstrata, Lonmin

Xstrata Plc gained 7.6 percent to 1,846 pence. The world's fourth-largest copper producer said it does not intend to make a takeover offer for Lonmin Plc because of ``extreme volatility and uncertainty in the financial markets.''

Lonmin plunged 17 percent to 1,889 pence.

BHP Billiton rose 3.1 percent 1,298 pence after Australia's competition regulator approved its hostile $101 billion bid for rival Rio Tinto, boosting speculation that the world's largest mining takeover may succeed. Rio gained 5.6 percent to 3,666 pence.

Porsche sank 8.7 percent to 69.19 euros. The maker of the 911 sports car said turbulence in global financial markets makes predicting earnings for 2009 ``difficult.'' The company reported revenue in the 12 months through July 31 of 7.46 billion euros, without giving a year-earlier figure.

Daimler lost 7 percent to 32.94 euros. The world's second- largest luxury car maker said markets have become more difficult since it lowered the earnings outlook in July.

Peugeot, Fortis

PSA Peugeot Citroen slid 3.1 percent to 25.56 euros. Europe's second-largest carmaker declined to reiterate its 5 percent growth target for full-year vehicle sales. Peugeot brand chief Jean-Philippe Collin refused to discuss the delivery- increase goal at an investor conference in Paris.

The Stoxx 600 Automobiles & Parts Index sank 5 percent, its biggest drop since February and the biggest drag on the broader, pan-European index.

Fortis, the bank rescued by Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, jumped 10 percent to 4.72 euros on speculation it will avoid booking a 900 million-euro loss on the sale of assets to Deutsche Bank AG.

The Dutch central bank won't approve the sale of ABN Amro Holding NV's Dutch commercial-banking units to Deutsche Bank ``until further notice,'' Fortis said in statement yesterday. The transaction had been needed to win clearance from the European Union for the bank's portion of the takeover of ABN Amro last year.

``The most positive news is that Fortis may not have to execute the remedies proposed by the EU against a big book loss,'' said Ton Gietman, an Amsterdam-based analyst for Petercam.

Swisscom AG gained 4.1 percent to 345 francs. Credit Suisse Group AG upgraded the largest Swiss phone company to ``outperform'' from ``neutral,'' saying second-quarter earnings have increased confidence the full-year forecast can be achieved.

To contact the reporter on this story: Adria Cimino in Paris at acimino1@bloomberg.net.